Imperial Uy had pleted eight 2v2 matches and was just one game away from achieving a ch winning streak. Their coach, Wade, sent Julian and Lucas to pete in the final battle.
Lucas was the sophomore representative at Imperial Uy and a member of the school team, though not one of the core eight pyers.
Sihe oppos in the group stage were retively weak, Wade allowed Lucas to pete, with Julian ag as support to ehi wrong.
"Venusaur"
Lucas, a Grass-Type trainer, sent out his Venusaur. At level 59, it was right at the peak of Advanced rank.
Their oppos, two 4th-year students, sent out a Charizard and a Bstoise, f a Fire-and-Water duo that were also at the Advanced peak.
To avoid any ce of failure, Julia out his Dragonite as backup.
Venusaur, Bstoise, and Charizard were incredibly popur choices for novice trainers due to their baats, fast growth, aively low resource requirements.
Each of their base forms could be purchased for just over a million, that too with Green potential.
"Venusaur, Mega Evolve!"
Lucas immediately triggered Mega Evolution, boosting Venusaur from Advanced peak to pseudo-Elite peak.
Seeing that Lucas had access to a Mega Stone, Julian decided he didn't o step in—unless one of the opposing trainers also had a Mega Stone.
A pseudo-Elite Venusaur against two Advanced-level Pokémo no suspense. In uhree minutes, both Bstoise and Charizard were defeated.
However, as Lucas exited Mega Evolution, his face turned pale. If Julian hadn't caught him, he would've colpsed on the spot.
Winning the match but colpsing afterward would've left a poor impression on the millions of viewers.
"Thanks," Lucas said.
He was relieved to avoid the embarrassment of falling over in front of such a rge audience.
"You o work out more. Thin arms and legs won't cut it," Julian said in a low voice.
Lucas g his arms and legs. As someone who had been sistently training, his physique was parable to that of a fitness coach. pared to him, Julian was the one who fit the description of "thin arms and legs."
However, recalling how Julian had once defeated the captain of the Fighting-Type css and was unanimously aowledged as the stro fighter in their special recruit css, Lucas wisely chose not tue.
The live chat was abuzz:
"Wow, this is the strength of Imperial Uy's team! The other schools 't even pare!"
"King Julian had two free wins today!"
"Does anyone have Imperial Uy member Thea' socials?"
"If my sos into Imperial year, I'll be done for the rest of my life!"
"I don't ask for much—just for my daughter to get into Shu."
With nine secutive victories and 18 points, Imperial Uy had secured first p their group and a guaranteed spot in the stage.
After their match, Julian and his team left the arena.
Following Coach Wade's instrus, they went to observe the matches of roups, fog especially on the four remaining top uies.
In Drakoria, there were five top uies: Imperial Uy, Shu Uy, the First Military Academy, Pearl Uy, and Modu Academy-the Dragon-Type Academy.
The first four were prehensive uies, while the st specialized in training Dragon-Type Pokémon.
When it came to breeding and training Dragon-Types, Modu was the undisputed leader in Drakoria and ranked in the global top five.
However, it had a small student body, with fewer than 5,000 students in total.
The current Dragon-Type Elite was also the honorary principal of this academy, and Coach Wade had oaught there for a time.
The academy also shared a close retionship with the Drake family.
And most of the truly outstanding Drake family members odu over Imperial or Shu.
Ian: Are you saying, I'm not that good?
---
Imperial Uy, peting in Group B, was the first to finish its matches. Meanwhile, the other top colleges were either still in the middle of their battles or waiting their turn on the sidelines.
The First Military Academy had already taken the field.
This academy was the dream school for every aspiring soldier in Drakoria.
Students there underwent military-style ma, and every student was both a student and a soldier.
Drakoria had five military academies in total, but only the First Military Academy was sidered the best.
The sed and third were mid-level, while the fourth and fifth were ranked as sed css colleges.
Despite their lower rankings, the sed-css academies were still in the Hundred Schools League.
The military-style training gave the trainers from the First Military Academy unmatched discipline and willpower, traits reflected in their Pokémon as well.
Their teamwork and coordination were exceptional, a key principle of military training.
Even with their overwhelming strength, the First Military Academy strictly adhered to the 2v2 format, in trast to Imperial Uy's occasional 1v2 dominance.
In their ches, the First Military Academy ook more than 30 seds to finish a battle.
"Who's that guy?"
Julian asked, pointing at a student in a camoufge uniform, whose epaulets marked him as a lieutenant el.
Lucas beside him was obsessed with colleg intel. Before the start of the tour, he had already collected a lot of information on the testants.
Now he was furiously rec the match footage on his tablet, analyzing the Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses, creating a detailed profile of their oppos.
"That's Pierce, Captain of the First Military Academy's school team, 4th-year student. His exact strength is unknown, but he's firmed to have a pseudo-Elite Rhyperior and Excadrill. And he hasn't peted in the Hundred Schools League before."
Gathering intel on the First Military Academy's school team was no easy task. Their strict military structure kept details about their members well-guarded.
The known strength of Pierce's two pseudo-Elite Pokémon mirrored the capabilities of Max, the captain of Imperial Uy's school team.
However, it was highly likely both were still holding back their true strength.
It was surprising that someone as strong as Pierce, a 4th-year to boot, had never participated in the Hundred Schools League before.
The First Military Academy crushed their petition with overwhelming force, defeating all nine colleges in their group, including their "sibling" school, the Third Military Academy.
Julian's fh school cssmates, Will and Han, were enrolled at the Third Military Academy, though they weren't part of the tour.
The First Military Academy pleted their matches in eveime than Imperial Uy.
"That soldier looks so cool"
"A lieutenant el while still in college? How does that even happen?"
"I used to serve in the military. To reach the rank of lieutenant el by his age, he must have ear least two First-Css Merits."
"First-Css Merits? That's insane!"
"I feel like Imperial Uy might not secure first pce this time."
The First Military Academy's anding performance, bined with their disciplined and rugged demeanor, quickly earhem widespread praise and reition.
There were people who were bad-mouthing Imperial Uy and there were also people who were supp it.
After all, not everyone agrees on the same thing.
Many students from other colleges held onto the hope that their own teams could be the dark horse of the tour, taking dowop five uies in a shog upset.
